Hydropneumatic locomotive reversing-gear.



E. L. RAGONNET. HYDROP'NEUMATIC LOCOMOTIVE REVERSING GEAR.

APPLICATION F ILED MAR. 19, 1915.

Patented July 20, 1915,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Way/M Mus E. L. RAGONNET.

HYDROPNEUMATIC LOCOMOTIVE REVERSING GEAR.

. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19.1915. 7 1 147 43 Patented July 20, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

E. L. RAGONNET.

HYDROPNEUMATIC LOCO MOTIVE REVERSING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-19.1915.

LM'KASE Patented July 20, 1915.

' 3 SHEETSSHEET a EUGENE L. RAG'ONNET, 0F LANGHOR-NE, PENNSYLVANIA.-

intense.

Application filed March 19, 1915. Serial No. 15,418.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE L. RAooN- NET, a citizen of the'Repubhc of France, re-

- siding at Langhorne, county of Bucks, and

State of Pennsylvania, have invented oertain new and useful Improvements in 'Hydropneumatic Locomotive Reversing-Gear, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

The present invention relates to a loco- ;inotive valve reverse gear in which a cylinder is provided'with a piston connected directly to the reversing-arm of the valve-gear, andthe piston is actuated by liquid under pressure, the movements ofwhich are 0on trolled by a valve, and the valve operated by a hand-lever in the locomotive cab.

The store of liquid is contained in two reservoirs whrch have connectlons to op'posite .ends of the cylinder, and the valve 1S supplied ,With compressed air and has ports fordirecting such air alternately into the opposite resenvoirs, and also ports which simultaneously direct the passage of the fluid from one reservoir to one end of the cylinder and from the opposite end of the cylinder to the other reservoir.

be moved to the mid position for thus locklVhen the valve is in its mid position it closes all the ports and cuts off all escape of liquid from the cylinder, thus preventing any movement of the piston and locking'the reversing-arm in whatever position it may have been moved by the piston.

As the hand-lever and the valve would ing the piston, their position would not afford anyindication of the adjustment of the, reversing-arm, and a movable. index is therefore preferably mounted adjacent to the hand-lever in the cab and connected to the reversing-arm so as to indicate the position of such arm.

In order that my piston-rod may be connected directly to the reversing-arm of the valve-gear, I form the reversing-cylinder entirely separate from the reservoirs, and thus permit the reservoirs to be located at any convenient. point upon the locomotive apart from the reversing cylinder. This separation of the parts gives great independence of arrangement in applying my Specification of Letters Patent.

' nY'DRorNEUM mc Loco uorivn BEVEBSING-GEAR.

Patented July 20, 1915.

invention to locomotives of various constructions, and permits the cylinders and their reversing-valve to be located at one point upon the locomotive, and the cylinder with its piston-rod to be located at another- The invention consists in the combina-. .tions' hereinafter described and set-forth,-

and which will be understood byreference to the annexed drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View of the cylinder with its piston connected to the reversing-arm and the reservoirs with a valve and hand-lever mounted thereon, the parts being in section at the centerline where hatched; Fig. 2 is a section of the valve and part of the reservoirs with the valve moved to open the ports; Fig. 3 is a vertical section ofthevalve-casingon the middle line of Fig. 2, with the various valve connections, the valve itself not being in section; Fig. 4 isan elevation of a locomotive with a diagrammatic representation of the realternative for1n',with the reservoirs and I valve fixed upon the side of the'boilcr, and

' only the hand-lever mounted in the cab.

In Fig. 45A designates the body 'ofthe 10- coniotive boiler, B the fire box, C the cab, and a. the hand-lever for actuating the valve reversing gear.

4 The valve-casing andthe reservoirs may be formed integral, as shown in Fig. l and as represented in the cab in Fig l, with the valve-casing '0 formed-integral with the reservoirs 7), 7), and the hand-lever attached to the spindle 0 of the valve.

In Fig. 4, the reversing-cylinder -D is shown pivoted upon the fulcrum E which is mounted upon the engine-frame F, and the piston-rod H jointed directly to a reversing-arm' Gwhich operates upon the reversinglink G" of the engine in any suitable connection of the piston-rod to the rovers ing-arm G, which in its movements necessarily causes a slight oscillation of the cylinder upon the fulcrum.

The pipes connecting the cylinder with the valve-casing are so smallthat they bend readily under such oscillating movement, and require no movable omts or couplings.

V Referring to Fig. l, the cylinder and valve-casing are shown connected together,

but crowded close tfoone another, for want of room upon the drawing, in aa; relation which would not occur in practice?" In practice, the reservoirs with the valve and hand-lever may be located in the cab,

to the cylinder, asshown. diagrammatically in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 1, the valve-casing 0 is provided at opposite sides with ports 6, e, which connect by pipes D and D with the opposite ends of the cylinder D.

The casing is provided with a nozzle 6 connected with a supply of air under pressure. The casing c isprovided with ports f, f, which open directly into the upper parts of the reservoirs Z), Z), and with ports g, g, which connect with the bottoms of the reservoirs b, 5, through passages h, h.

The valve-casing is made with a conical seat asshown in Fig. 3, and the valve 1' is formed ofa conical frustum with the spindle is extended from its smaller end and carrying the hand-lever Z and the indexhand m. i

The casingis provided with a cover or removable head 0, and a chamber 0 is provided in such head to receive a spring 39* which presses against the larger end of the valve and holds it firmly upon its conical seat.

The valve, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, haspockets in its periphery, the pocket 11, being in constant connection with the air inlet e and with'passages n which are adapted to connect alternately with the ports f, f. The opposite edges of the valve are provided with pockets 0, 0', adapted alternately to connect the passages h, it with the ports The valve-casing is shown provided with a segment {I having a notch g'at the middle of its length, to engage a latch 1 upon the hand-lever a in its mid position, and an indeyarch s is attached to the segment by. studs 8, shown in Figs. 1 and3, to indicate the position of the index-hand m which is connected with the reversing arm' by connections t, and'cra'nk t on rock-shaft G.

The valve and hand-lever are shown in their mid-position in Fig. 1 with the passages n closed against the wall of the easing, and the ports 6, e and the ports 9, 9,

also closed, so that there is no movement of liquid in the reservoirs or in the-cylinder D.

The setting of the hand-lever in such mid-po sition therefore prevents any movement of the piston, as the liquid on either side of the same can only escape through the port 6 or e, which :in such position of the valve is wholly closed.

The "alve is shown in Fig. 2 rocked as by moving the hand-lever to the right, thus connecting one of the passages n with the port f, and forcing the liquid in the reservoir Z) upward through the port 9 into the pocket 0 and thence through the port 6 and pipe D to the forward end of the cylinder.

The ports in the valve-casing are made relatively small so as not to produce any sudden movement of the piston 71. when the valve is moved, but to actuate the valve reversing gear as rapidly as is safe or desirable.

\Vhen the hand-lever is held in the position of Fig. 2 for a short time, the piston is moved to the inner end of the cylinder D as shown in Fig. 1, thus moving the reversing lever G in one direction, and when the handlever is moved and held in the opposite direction it moves the reversing-lever to the opposite extreme indicated by the dotted lines G in Fig. 1. The middleposition of the reversing-lever is indicated by the dotted lines G in Fig. 1.

The movement of the index-hand m corresponds exactly with these movements of the reversing-lever, such index-hand being in the middle of its arch s when the reversing- ],ever isv in its middle position, and moving forward and backward when the reversinglever is moved forward or backward, thus enabling the engineer to determine the extent to which the reversing-lever has been moved by the operation of the valve, and thus guiding him in checking such reverse movement and shifting the hand-lever to its mid position, in which position the revers ing-lever is locked firmly by the closing of all the cylinder ports.

When the liquid in either of the reservoirs is forced into the cylinder D and moves the piston, a corresponding amount of liquid is forced by the piston into the opposite reservoir, which is vented at suchv time by the pocket u in the edge of the valve, which connects the port 9 or g with an exhaust-port a, which port opens directly to being broken by the diagrammatic character 7 of the drawing.

the pipes D and I) may be carried beneath In this invention, the reversing-cylinder D is entirely distinct or separate from the liquid-controlling devices which produce the movements of its piston, and it may therefore be arranged in a horizontal position or vertically above or below the'valve reversing rock-shaft.

This affords great facility in applying the invention to, existing engines of various types or constructions, as it permits the re versing-cylinder to be attached to the boiler, the frame, or any other part of theengine which furnishes the most convenient location for the fulcrum E. The separation of the reversing-cylinder from the larger part of the apparatus (which comprises the reservoirs and hand-moved valve) enables such larger part to be placed in some convenient location other than that where the cylinder must necessarily be set, to take directly hold of the reversing-lever.

My invention permits great simplicity of construction, as it involves the use of very few parts, and the construction also affords the following advantages. The pivoting. of the valve reversing-cylinder D to a fixed fulcrum permits the piston=rod of the cylinder to be jointed directly to the reversingarm of the rock-shaft, the joint of which moves through an arc of a circle, when reversing the valves, and causes a slight oscillation of the cylinder. This construction avoids the necessity of using a connecting rod of any kind between the piston and the reversing-arm, and avoids the lost motion which results from wear insuch connections. The use of a conical distributing valve, such as is shown in Fig. 5, maintains a tight joint between the valve and casing, so that wear does not cause leakage, the construction permitting the parts to be ground accurately when manufactured, and to be maintained in perfect condition by subsequent grinding, if required. f

The spring 0 which presses upon the larger end of the valve-body holds the valve upon its seat with an elastic pressure, and as none of the passages or pockets in the valve- :body extend to its smaller end, there is no tendency for fluid to escape from the casing at the smaller end of the valve-body, and no stufling-box is therefore required around the spindle -10. 1

This reduces the cost of construction and permits the hand-lever a to be attached to the spindle close to the bearing, as indicated in Fig. 5, Where a nut holds such hand-lever securely upon the spindle; and it also permitsthe index-hand m to be fitted movably upon an extension 7a of the spindle where it is held in place by a cotter 'mfl.

The co-axial arrangement of the hand-i.

lever and the index-hand permits the sup port of an arch 8 upon the segment g'by means of the studs 8, the concentric arrangement of the segment 9 and theindeX-arch s being-clearly shown in Fig. 1.

While it is not necessary to the invention that this particular formof valve be used, it is evident that it possesses many advantages.

1. In a locomotive .valve reverse gear, the combination, with a fulcrum upon the engine adjacent to the valve reversing-arm, of a cylinder pivoted to oscillate upon such fulcrum and having its piston connected to such reversing-arm, and means for supplying fluid reversely to the said cylinder.

2. In a locomotive valve reverse gear, the combination, with a fulcrum upon the engine adjacent to the'v'aflve reversing-armfof a cylinder pivoted to oscillate upon such fulcrum with its piston connected to the valve reversing-arm, fluid connections to opposite ends of the cylinder and a hand-lever in the cab for controlling the flow of fluid in suchconnections; a

3. In a locomotive valve reverse gear, the combination, with a fulcrum upon the engine adjacent to the valve reversing-arm, of a cylinder pivoted to oscillate upon such fulcrum with its piston connected to the valve reversing-arm, two liquid-reservoirs with liquid connections to the opposite ends of the said cylinder, and a hand-lever in the cab with connections for supplying fluid under pressure alternatively to the said reservoirs.

fl. In a locomotive valve reverse gear, the combination, with a fulcrum upon the engine adjacent to the valve reversing-arm, of a cylinder pivoted to oscillate upon such fulcrum with its piston connected to the valve reversing-arm, two liquid-reservoirs with liquid connections to the opposite ends of the said cylinder, a conical valve mounted in the cab with hand-lever to oscillate the Having thus set forth the nature 'of the invention what is claimed herein is:

same, and ports controlled by the said valve to the two reservoirs.

5. In a locomotive valve reverse gear, the combination, with afulcrum upon the engine adjacent to the valve reversing-arm, of a cylinder pivoted to oscillate upon such fulcrum with its piston connected to the valve reversing-arm, two liquid-reservoirs with liquid-connections ,to the opposite ends of the said cylinder, a conical Valve mounted in.

the cab with pipe supplying compressed air thereto, ;a'nd valv'e passages for directing the air alternately into the two reservoirs.

6. In a locomotive valve reverse gear, the

combination, with a fulcrum upon the engine adjacent-to the valve reversing-arm, of a cylinder pivoted to oscillatejiipon such fulcrum with its piston connected to the valve reversing-arm, two liquid reservoirs with liquid connections to. the opposite ends ofthe said cylinder, a valve withhand-lever to actuate the same,; a connection supplying compressed air to the valve, ports controlled by the said valve for supplying the air under'pressure alternately to the two .reservoir's, and liquid passages in'the valve adapted when adjusted in opposite positions to direct the liquid from the reservoirs into the opposite ends of the cylinder, and when placed in the intermediate position, to prevent any flow of liquid. from the cylinder, and thereby lock its piston in the adjusted position. i

7 In a locomotive valve reverse gear, the

combination, with a. fulcrum upon the en'- glne ad acent tothe valve reversing arm, of

- a cylinder pivoted to oscillate upon such ful- 1' forum with its piston connected to the valve reversing-arm, two liquid reservoirs with liquid connections to the oppositeends of the said cylinder, a conical valve mounted I in the cab with pipe supplying compressed air thereto, valve passages for directing the air alternately into the two'reservoirs, liquid passages in the valve-casing connecting the reservoirs respectively with the opposite ends of the cylinder, pockets in the valve adapted, when adjusted in opposite positions, todirect the liquid-into the opposite ends of the cylinder, and when placed in the intermediate position to prevent any flow of liquid from the cylinder, and thereby lock its piston in its adjusted position. p

8. In a locomotive valve reverse gear, the combination, with a. cylinder having piston connected directly to the valve reversingarm, of two liquid-reservoirs independentof the cylinder, and having liquid connections to the opposite ends of the said cylinder, a

ing arm in the adjusted position, and an index associated with and movable independently of the valve and having connection to the reversing-arm and operating to show the adjusted position of the said arm.

the combination, with a hand-lever in the cab, of two liquid reservoirs with a valve actuated by the hand-lever to discharge the liquid at pleasure from either ofthe reservoirs and a valve reversing cylinder and piston independent of the reservoirs, to permit their location at any convenient point upon the locomotive, the cylinder being pivoted upon a fulcrum to permit the oscillation of the cylinder with its piston-rod connected directly to the valve reversing-arm, the cylinder-ends being connected respectively with the two reservoirs so that its piston is reciprocated in accordance with the movements of the hand-lever;

10. In a locomotive valve reversing gear, the combination, with a hand-lever in the cab, a, valve reversing-cylinder pivoted upon a fulcrum to permit its oscillations, and a piston having a piston-rod connected di; rectly to the valve reversing-arm, of two liquid-reservoirs connected respectively to the opposite ends of the cylinder, and a conical, valve and casing with a spring to press the valve elastically to its seat, the

valve having pockets and passages terminating upon its periphery only and having no liquid pressure upon its smaller end, the valve-spindle projected 'from such smaller end, whereby the spindle requires no packing, and an operating lever attached to such spindle.

11, In a locomotive valve-reversing gear, the combination, with a valve reversing-cylinder pivoted upon a fulcrum to permit its oscillations, and a piston having a pistonrod connected directly to the valve reversing-arm, of two liquid reservoirs connected respectively to the opposite ends of the cylinder, and a conical valve and easing with spindle projected from thesmallei' end of the valve and having an operating lever attached thereto, an extension upon such spindle having anindex-hand fitting movably thereto, and a connection from the valve reversing-arm to the said index-hand to indicate the position of such arm and valve-gear.

12. In a locomotive valve reversing gear, the combination, with a valve reversingcylinder pivoted upon a fulcrum to permit its oscillations, and a' piston having a pistonrod connected directlyto thevalve reversing-arm, of two liquid-reservoirs connected respectively to the opposite ends of the cylinder and a conical valve and casing with spindle projected from the smaller end of the valve and having an operating lever attached thereto, a segment mounted upon the valve-casing for locking the operating lever,

.an index-arch connected to the side of such segment with space between the two for the 9. In a locomotive valve reversing gear,

movement of the operating lever, an eX- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set tension upon the spindlehavin'g an indexmy hand in the presence of two subscribing hand fitted movably'thereto and extended to witnesses.

the said arch, and a connection from the I EUGENE L. RAGONNET. valve reversing-arm to the said index-hand Witnesses: to indicate the position of such arm and L. LEE,

valve-gear. THOMAS S. CRANE. 

